After leaving Olympia, we suddenly had a lot on our plates and we took a while to actually “hit the road” in the true sense. We spent the first couple of weeks visiting family all over western Washington and doing some last minute things to get Rigby ready for travel again. And then finally – there was the highway. And our destination: “Somewhere down that way” (as we pointed in a generally southern direction). We were in eastern Washington at the time, so pointing south put us into Oregon, and down US 395 we went. (a beautiful Scenic Byway if you ever get the chance).
We visited the BLM Regional Office in Burns, Oregon where we found out that unfortunately, the Steens Mountain Wilderness Scenic Loop Road was still closed because of snow, but they did tell us we could get into the campground near the north entrance, just east of the little village of Frenchglen. Once we arrived we found it was full so it was time to scramble for an alternative overnight spot which we found on a pull-off just south of Frenchglen.
Steens Mountain Wilderness
As we drove south the next morning we came to the Steens South Entrance, and decided to see how far we could get before a road closure would turn us around. Along that drive we saw some of the wild Mustangs that run free in that area, really a great sight.
And though we kept expecting to see a gate, we made it about 20 miles in to Steens South Campground (which the BLM Office had told us was still closed) and we were delighted to see it was now open, with NO ONE THERE! So we picked the best campsite of all of them and decided to stay for a couple of days.
Just past the campground was the gate closing the loop road at the beginning of the uphill climb up out of the valley and up to Steens Mountain, and we rode part of that with our mountain bikes up to a breathtaking view of the valley below (photo at the top of this page). But the steep uphill was extremely strenuous so we headed the other way instead and rode a couple miles or so down a side road to check out the historic Riddle Brothers’ Homestead.
If you have a real sharp eye you may be able to see Ben Riddle’s cabin in a clearing just right of center in the image above.
After the ride Shannon finally got some good chill time in the hammock which has not seen nearly enough use in the past couple of years.
A few other campers showed up during the day and we decided on a whim to blow on out of there and go check out the Alvord Desert, which we mistakenly thought would be only a 1.5 hr drive away. It turned out to be almost 3 hrs and we arrived after sundown…
Alvord Desert
It wasn’t quite dark yet, but it was getting there fast and the access road from the highway to the lakebed was criss-crossed with huge ruts. Not wanting to get stuck in the dark we played it safe (sadly) and overnighted in the parking lot instead near the vault toilets.
The next morning, again being very leery of getting Rigby high-centered on the rutted access road, we walked out onto the dry lakebed. There were several campers out on the lakebed, waaaaaay out there near the horizon and it looked like it would be so much fun to camp out there in the middle of nowhere, but we also were watching the weather and rain was forecast for that afternoon, and that dry lakebed would not be a place to be caught in a downpour as it would turn into mud soup.
So this will be an overnight destination for another time. Definitely gotta come back when the weather is more reliable, and maybe with some camping buddies so we’d have some help if we were to get stuck. But for now, here’s a selfie so you’ll know that yes indeed, we were actually there.
